Ouachita Baptist University’s Division of Music will present Lauren Linton and Jacob Sturgeon in their senior musical theatre recitals April 30 at 8 p.m. in Mabee Fine Arts Center’s McBeth Recital Hall. The event is free and open to the public.

“This is our final bow at Ouachita,” Linton said. “I’m so grateful for the time I’ve had here, the people I’ve come to call my family, and the lessons I’ve learned, both in my studies and in life. We wanted to go out with a bang, have a great time doing what we love and showcase what we’ve learned from our wonderful professors, and I think that shows in our program.”

Linton is the daughter of Doug and Penny Figures of Coldwater, Miss. She has been named to Ouachita’s Dean’s List and has served as co-social chair for Ouachita’s chapter of Theta Alpha Phi national honor fraternity for theatre arts. She has made it to the finals of the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival Regional Irene Ryan Acting Auditions as an acting partner and is a sweetheart for Sigma Alpha Sigma men’s social club.

“One of the things I’m most proud of in this recital is the wide variety of music and scene work that I will be performing,” Sturgeon said. “I think that works as a perfect capstone for my final performance as a musical theatre major here at OBU.”

Sturgeon, a native of Pine Bluff, Ark., also has been named to Ouachita’s Dean’s List and is a member of Theta Alpha Phi. He has been a nominee for the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival Regional Irene Ryan Acting Auditions.

Linton’s portion of the performance includes: Stephen Sondheim’s “The Miller’s Son” from A Little Night Music, Harvey Schmidt’s “Soon It’s Gonna Rain” from The Fantasticks, the first scene from The Learned Women by Molière, Jerry Bock’s “The Very Next Man” from Fiorello, a scene from Phoenix by Scott Organ, Marc Shaiman’s “Secondhand White Baby Grand” from Bombshell: The Musical and Adam Schlesinger’s “Screw Loose” from Cry Baby: The Musical.

Sturgeon’s portion of the performance includes: Anthony Newley’s “A Wonderful Day Like Today” from The Road of the Greasepaint – The Smell of the Crowd, act two from Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw, Frederick Loewe’s “Why Can’t the English?” from My Fair Lady, David Yazbek’s “Love Sneaks In” from Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Cole Porter’s “Brush Up Your Shakespeare” from Kiss Me, Kate, act one from After the Fall by Arthur Miller and Frank Wildhorn’s “Falcon in the Dive” from The Scarlet Pimpernel.

Linton and Sturgeon are students of Mary Handiboe, associate professor of theatre arts, and David Stanley, instructor of music. They will be accompanied on the piano by Susan Monroe and Kristen LaMadrid, staff pianists.

Linton and Sturgeon will be assisted by several student performers. Kayla Esmond, a senior musical theatre major from Burleson, Texas, will assist Sturgeon for the scenes from Pygmalion and After the Fall. Joe Ochterbeck, a senior theatre arts and mass communications double major from Maumelle, Ark., will assist Linton for the scene from Phoenix. Caitlin Secrest, a senior vocal performance major from Arkadelphia, Ark., will assist Linton for the scene from The Learned Women. Garrett Whitehead, a senior musical theatre major from Cleburne, Texas, will assist Linton for “Soon It’s Gonna Rain” and Sturgeon for “Brush Up Your Shakespeare.”

For more information, contact OBU’s School of Fine Arts at (870) 245-5129.

Ouachita Baptist University’s Department of Theatre Arts will host its student-directed One-Act Play Festival on Thursday and Friday, May 1-2, at 8 p.m. in Verser Theatre. The performances are free and open to the public.

The One-Act Plays are a project of a directing class and a requirement for students seeking to fulfill a theatre degree. This semester, eight one-acts plays will be performed over two nights.

“The One-Acts provide our senior students with a chance to be fully involved in all aspects of a play’s production; from choosing the play, to its casting, rehearsing, design and, finally, culminating in its performance,” said Daniel Inouye, assistant professor of theatre arts, who teaches the directing class. “It provides them an opportunity to put in to practice everything they have learned while at school here.”

“Directing the One-Acts is kind of the capstone of our theatre education,” said Lacey Johnson, a senior theatre arts and history major from Little Rock, Ark. “It allows us, as theatre students, to synthesize everything we’ve learned about the dramatic process into one project.” Johnson will direct The Third Angle on Friday night.

“I think it’s important as a person of the theatre to direct because it allows a whole new wave of creativity,” said Jillian Kaniss, a senior theatre arts and psychology major from Texarkana, Texas. “You get to create your own art and have audience members take a journey that you want them to take. It’s exhilarating to know that you can impact people with the work you put on the stage.” Kaniss will direct Hello Out There on Thursday night.

Thursday night’s performances include:

Hello Out There:Jillian Kaniss will direct this play by William Saroyan. Set in a small town Texas jail, this play follows a young felon as he falls in love with the jail’s cook and plots his escape. Stage manager for the performance is Melanie Herring, a junior art and dietetics and nutrition major from Rison, Ark. Performing in the show are Aaden Jones, a freshman musical theatre major from North Little Rock, Ark.; Aaron Pinion, a sophomore theatre arts major from Tulsa, Okla.; Kenderick Scorza, a sophomore musical theatre major from North Little Rock, Ark.; Caitlin Secrest, a senior vocal performance major from Arkadelphia, Ark.; Dallas Sleeman, a sophomore theatre arts major from Kentwood, Mich.; and Garrett Whitehead, a senior musical theatre major from Plano, Texas.

Urashima the Fisherman: Kayla Esmond, a senior musical theatre major from Burleson, Texas, will direct this play by David F. Eliet. The play retells an ancient Japanese ghost story about a man whisked away to the immortal world. In time, the old man discovers the truth behind the saying “be careful what you wish for.” Stage manager for the performance is Garrett Sayers, a sophomore musical theatre major from Greenwood, Ark. Performing in the show are Sarah Cate, a senior Christian studies/Christian missions major; Tori Clark, a junior choral music education major from Bonnerdale, Ark.; Tara Clem, a junior musical theatre major from Texarkana, Texas; Will Combs, a sophomore physics major from Hot Springs Village, Ark.; John Doss, a senior music major from Rogers, Ark.; Jessica Smith, a senior musical theatre major from Van Buren, Ark.; and Blaine Surber, a senior musical theatre major from Sulphur Springs, Texas.

Here We Are: Lauren Linton, a senior musical theatre major from Coldwater, Miss., will direct this play by Dorothy Parker. The comedy follows a newlywed couple as they embark on their honeymoon and the awkwardness of new love that ensues. Performing in the show are Stacy Hawking, a sophomore musical theatre major from Sherwood, Ark., and Tyler Wisdom, a junior musical theatre major from North Little Rock, Ark.

Shotgun: Joe Ochterbeck, a senior theatre and mass communications major from Maumelle, Ark., will direct this play by Romulus Linney. The play depicts the honest and pathetic struggle of a man dredging through his past and present in search of love, truth, and meaning. Stage manager for the performance is Shonna Jasperson, a sophomore musical theatre major from Houston, Texas. Performing in the show are Chad Burris, a junior musical theatre major from Van Buren, Ark.; Walter Dodd, a sophomore theatre arts major from Little Rock, Ark.; DeCarl Jones, a senior musical theatre major from Garland, Texas; Angela Morgan, a junior musical theatre major from Bryant, Ark.; and Hailey Weiner, a sophomore musical theatre major from Maumelle, Ark.

Friday night’s performances include:

Haiku: Kaylee Nebe, a junior musical theatre major from Mesquite, Texas, will direct this play by Katherine Snodgrass. The drama depicts a young mentally ill woman who, during her moments of lucidity, creates beautiful haiku. The play highlights the woman’s urge to be seen for who she is on the inside, especially by her bitter and disappointed sister. Stage manager for the performance is Katelyn Mason, a freshman vocal performance major from Frisco, Texas. Performing in the show are Lauren Hutcheson, a freshman musical theatre and education major from Bossier City, La.; Caitlyn Johnson, a senior early childhood education major from Winnsboro, Texas; and Kathleen Suit, a junior theatre arts major from Hot Springs, Ark.

Naomi in the Living Room: Brooke Brackett, a senior theatre arts major from Springdale, Ark., will direct this play by Christopher Durang. This dark comedy revolves around a man and his wife visiting his mentally unstable mother at her house. Performing in the show are Hannah Fender, a freshman musical theatre major from Maumelle, Ark.; Abby Root, a freshman theatre arts major from Arkadelphia, Ark.; and Jacob Sturgeon, a senior musical theatre major from Pine Bluff, Ark.

The Third Angle: Lacey Johnson will direct this comedy by Florence Ryerson. The play chronicles a woman’s effort to play “the third angle” when she realizes she is in a love triangle with her husband and his new mistress. Performing in the show are Timothy Drennan, a senior musical theatre major from Paron, Ark.; Natalie Williams, a junior musical theatre major from Little Rock, Ark.; and Cami Willis, a senior musical theatre and church media major from Flower Mound, Texas.

The Next Contestant: Sarah Lynnette Davis, a senior theatre arts and Christian studies/Christian missions major from Bedford, Texas, will direct this play by Frank D. Gilroy. This sardonic play revolves around a contestant on a fictional game show, who is challenged to get a date with his ex-girlfriend. Stage manager for the performance is Bret Sanders, a freshman musical theatre major from Jonesboro, Ark. Performing in the show are Mattie Bogoslavsky, a junior musical theatre major from North Little Rock, Ark.; Jarrod Myers, a sophomore psychology student at Henderson State University from Texarkana, Texas; and Kayla Walker, a freshman musical theatre major from North Little Rock, Ark.

For more information, contact Daniel Inouye at inouyed@obu.edu or (870) 245-5522.

Ouachita Baptist University’s Division of Music will present T.J. Bailey in his senior piano recital Friday, May 2, at 2 p.m. The recital, which is free and open to the public, will be held in Mabee Fine Arts Center’s McBeth Recital Hall.

Bailey, a worship arts major from Fort Smith, Ark., has been involved with music his whole life and plans to pursue a career in worship ministry.

“Ouachita is known for the excellence of its theological and musical programs,” Bailey said, “and I am proud to say I had the opportunity to study here.”

Bailey has been named to Ouachita’s President’s and Dean’s Lists and is a member of the Carl Goodson Honors Program. He was the winner of Ouachita’s 2012 Virginia Queen Piano Competition and was a national finalist in the 2013 National Federation of Music Clubs Biennial Collegiate Auditions.

“I feel very strongly that my focus is not on being the ‘best’ pianist or on being better than my peers,” Bailey noted. “Rather, I want people to enjoy my music, to feel like they relate to it. I work to perform in a way that invites people into my world and allows them to experience life from a different perspective. I’ve always joked that I couldn’t care less about playing all the right notes; my personal bar of success is if I can sit down at the piano and make a grown man cry.”

The recital will open with “Toccata and Fugue in E Minor, BWV 914” by Johann Sebastian Bach, followed by “Fantasy in C Major” by Franz Joseph Haydn and “Intermezzo Op. 116, No. 2” by Johannes Brahms. Bailey will conclude with the third movement from “Trois Études de Concert, S. 144” by Franz Liszt, “Un Sospiro.”

The final selection has special meaning for Bailey, as he remembers an especially moving performance of the same piece. He was a freshman at Ouachita at the time, and the upperclassman’s performance “strongly influenced my approach to music,” he said.

“She expressed herself through music in a way that I had never experienced before,” Bailey added. “The depth of emotion that I felt that day has become a goal for me, to recreate that experience for others. As soon as that particular performance was done I told myself that someday I would play like that; I might even eventually be good enough to play that piece. Sometimes, dreams that become goals become realities.”

For more information, contact OBU’s School of Fine Arts at (870) 245-5129.

Ouachita Baptist University’s Division of Music will host the annual Virginia Queen Piano Competition Friday, May 2, at 3:30 p.m. in McBeth Recital Hall in Mabee Fine Arts Center. The competition performances are free and open to the public.

“The competition was established by Virginia Queen 37 years ago to motivate our piano majors and minors to excel,” said Ouida Keck, coordinator of keyboard studies and Addie Mae Maddox Professor of Music. “It gives them the motivation to excel, exposes them to professional standards and gives them a chance to develop self-confidence and stage presence.”

Each student will perform two compositions of contrasting style, with a total performance time of no more than 10 minutes each.

The first-place winner will receive $500 and their name will be engraved on a plaque displayed in the Mabee Fine Arts Center music library. Second place will receive $350, and third place will receive $150.

Students who will participate in the competition include: Rusty Butler, a senior worship arts major from Little Rock, Ark.; TJ Bailey, a senior worship arts major from Fort Smith, Ark.; Katie Butts, a sophomore computer science major from Piqua, Ohio; Jordan Denniston, a senior music major from Plano, Texas; Caroline Dunlap, a freshman piano performance major from Little Rock, Ark.; Joanna Horton, a freshman music major from Arkadelphia, Ark.; Sean Jackson, a junior music composition major from Livingston, La.; Lauren Johnson, a sophomore church music major from Little Rock, Ark.; Courtney Stanage, a junior piano performance major from Hot Springs Village, Ark.; and Emily Tucker, a senior music major from Hot Springs, Ark.

For more information, contact Dr. Ouida Keck at kecko@obu.edu or (870) 245-5352.